New N gauge decoder from TCS

1864 Views 7 Replies 4 Participants Last post by upnick, Nov 30, 2008

BromsMods

Discussion Starter · Sep 1, 2008

TCS are producing a new decoder for N gauge. This will be a direct 6-pin decoder to rival offerings from Digitrax, Lenz and Zimo and will be called the EUN. We hope to have the first production run of these for sale by the time of the Redditch Model Railway Club exhibition in Birmingham on 20 September. Unfortunately I don't have a definite price yet, but it will probably be in the £15 - £16 price range.

It is difficult to be exact, in any case, at the moment as the exchange rate fluctuates (downwards!) and we have already had to increase prices on our new TCS stock arriving this week. There are some bargains to be had on old TCS stock (pre BEMF) at the moment in a number of places but I guess that these stocks are very limited.

Regards

John R
Bromsgrove Models

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goedel

· #2 · Sep 1, 2008

QUOTE (BromsMods @ 1 Sep 2008, 11:01) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>TCS are producing a new decoder for N gauge. This will be a direct 6-pin decoder to rival offerings from Digitrax, Lenz and Zimo and will be called the EUN.
Hello John

Thanks very much for this! A pleasant surprise that it will be arriving so soon - finally something economical and easy to fit and with excellent performance assuming it's a TCS M1 with BMF . I can think of...ooh...hundreds of models this will be perfect for!

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goedel

· #3 · Nov 27, 2008 (Edited by Moderator)

It's here! (Currently in stock at Bromsgrove models that is...)

I have some on order and hope to be able to review them for the forum - I assume they'll be just as good as the TCS M1 with BEMF except with plug-and-play.

It is a shame the pound has slumped against the dollar and prices have gone up, but then the pound has slumped against the euro too which makes all the other NEM651 direct plug in decoders from CTElektronik et al. more expensive too.

BTW the decoder is called the TCS 6 pin EUN561 N-scale plug-in decoder or just the EUN for short. I assume that's EUN as in European Union 'N' scale...

(I suppose the slide of the pound is good for British industry though if they get more orders, assuming there's any industry left that is...)

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zmil

· #4 · Nov 28, 2008

I think there will be a lot HO scale Euro loks that it will also be useful for
nearly every New Lok made since the 90's have the NEM651 socket

Regards Zmil

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goedel

· #5 · Nov 30, 2008 (Edited by Moderator)

That's a good point Zmil!

Well the my first batch arrived this weekend and I have been most impressed. It is almost exactly a TCS-M1 but with pins instead of wires, funnily enough.

Picture from: www.tcsdcc.com

With such plug and play the hardest part of decoder installation is now getting the body off an N scale model!! (I have just discovered that the Minitrix Re 460 is a right bastard to remove the body on - you know, one of those models where you need three hands to do it!! Fortunately it yielded to my dexterity before I yielded to my impatience...the window was about to be opened.

The only problem I have with this decoder is that the BEMF sometimes seems to make European N scale models jerky and so I find I get very smooth performance with it switched off. I guess that if I want ultra-low speed control for "creeping" then I'll have to cut out the locomotive's SMD capacitors and inductor coils and solder in replacement wires (which I always do for hardwire installations e.g. TCS-M1 and M3 and M4 anyway) - so perhaps for best performance plug and play is not in fact plug and play!

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zmil

· #6 · Nov 30, 2008 (Edited by Moderator)

Still it's 6 less wires to solder

Regards Zmil

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zmil

· #7 · Nov 30, 2008

Well 7 really -I forgot the blue wire

Like I did on most off my early installations

Regards Zmil

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upnick

· #8 · Nov 30, 2008

The decoders look a good option to the digitrax offering and with TCS excellent record will no doubt be popular do they carry the ''goof proof'' guarentee as their other decoders

Shame i dont have any locos for them to go in ......know what you mean about the bodies goedel

with some of mine its hold your breath and try not to knock of the railings on the bodies.

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